Mary, Assumed into Heaven, we venerate you as the Queen of Heaven and earth. Your own Son led you to a throne of glory in Heaven next to His own. As you tasted the bitterness of pain and sorrow with Him on earth, you now enjoy eternal bliss with Him in Heaven. As our loving Queen, intercede for us in our needs (mention your request). We thank Jesus for having put a most beautiful crown upon you head, while all the Angels and Saints acclaim you as their Queen. O Queen Assumed into Heaven, pray for us. Amen.Monday, August 7, 2006
Mary, Assumed into Heaven, we venerate you as the Queen of Heaven and earth. Your own Son led you to a throne of glory in Heaven next to His own. As you tasted the bitterness of pain and sorrow with Him on earth, you now enjoy eternal bliss with Him in Heaven. As our loving Queen, intercede for us in our needs (mention your request). We thank Jesus for having put a most beautiful crown upon you head, while all the Angels and Saints acclaim you as their Queen. O Queen Assumed into Heaven, pray for us. Amen.Sunday, August 6, 2006
Update 2: On Saturday, August 5, 2006, the Cardinal underwent another surgery - an upper endoscopy and a flexible sigmoidoscopy at 10 a.m.
Send an electronic get-well card to Cardinal George.
Update: Cancer tests show that the surgery succeeded! Tests show no cancer remains in the Cardinal!
Original Post (7/30/2006): My cardinal, Francis Cardinal George (69 years old) of the Archdiocese of Chicago, underwent surgery this past Thursday, July 27, 2006, to treat bladder cancer that was diagnosed two weeks ago. Wednesday, July 26, Cardinal George released this statement:
"Tomorrow morning I will undergo surgery at Loyola University Medical Center to remove cancer discovered very recently in my bladder. I am informed that I can expect to make a full recovery from this cancer and the surgery to remove it. I have asked my doctors and archdiocesan officials to fully brief you after the surgery on the specifics of the operation and my recovery."
Thursday, Cardinal George went into surgery that was to remove his bladder, prostate, some lymph nodes and part of his right ureter. However, Cardinal George was taken back into a second surgery just before midnight Thursday when physicians noticed a drop in George's blood pressure and blood count. Doctors accidentally nicked an artery in the pelvis during the removal of the lymph nodes.
Cardinal George is a much more orthodox cardinal than previous ones. And, he is a very generous and amiable person. Please say a prayer for his recovery.
Please join me in praying the nine-day Novena that leads up to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 15), a holy day of obligation.Novena Day One:
Immaculate Virgin, Mother of Jesus and our Mother, we believe in your triumphant assumption into heaven where the angels and saints acclaim you as Queen of Heaven and earth. We join them in praising you and bless the Lord who raised you above all creatures. With them we offer you our devotion and love. We are confident that you watch over our daily efforts and we pray that you may intercede for us in our needs (mention your request). We take comfort from the faith in the coming Resurrection and we look to you, our life, our sweetness and our hope. After this earthly life, show us Jesus, the blest fruit of your womb, O kind, O loving, O sweet virgin Mary. O Queen Assumed into Heaven, pray for us. Amen.
Double of the II Class (1955 Calendar): August 6
Today is the celebration of the Feast of the Transfiguration, when we recall Christ's divinity showing forth on Mount Tabor. This event foreshadowed the glorious Resurrection and Ascension of Christ that would occur after His death on the Cross.
Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus.Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them. As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant. Mk 9:2-10Yet, the greatest mystery in this was not that Christ shone forth in glory. The true mystery is in that Christ kept that light and divinity hidden all during his earthly ministry to save our souls.
Prayers:
Novena to Our Lord of Transfiguration
Collect:
O God, Who in the glorious Transfiguration of Thine only-begotten Son didst confirm the mysteries of the faith by the witness of the fathers, and in the voice which came down from the shining cloud, didst wondrously foreshow the perfect adoption of sons: vouchsafe in Thy loving kindness, to make us coheirs with this King of glory, and to grant that we may be made partakers of that same glory. Through the same our Lord.
Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal
Image Source: Transfiguration by Giovanni Gerolamo Savoldo, 16th century
Saturday, August 5, 2006
Optional Memorial (1969 Calendar): August 5
Each year on August 5th the Church celebrates the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome. This is one of only three such universally held feastdays. There is a separate feast to celebrate the Dedication of St. John the Lateran (on November 9th) and a third that celebrates the Dedication of both St. Peter’s Basilica and the Basilica of St. Paul outside the walls (on November 18th). These four basilicas are the four major basilicas. Many other minor basilicas have been designated as such by the Popes throughout the world, but these four basilicas are held in universal esteem by the faithful. They are the highest-ranking church buildings in the world.
And the story behind St. Mary Major is the story of one of the earliest miracles attributed to our Blessed Lady.
According to Tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared in a dream to two faithful Catholics, the patrician John and his wife, as well as to Pope Liberius who reigned from 352 – 366 AD, asking them to build a church in her honor where the snow would fall on the night of August 4th into the 5th. On the night announced in 358 AD, snow began to fall on the location where St. Mary Major is presently located. This of course is a miracle considering it fell on that small location in the heat of August, a notoriously warm period in Rome.
Pope Liberius went and traced the outlines of the church in the snow himself, and the first basilica was built on that site. However, it was completed nearly a century later by Pope Sixtus III following the Council of Ephesus in 431 during which Mary was declared to be the Mother of God. The feastday kept by the Church on August 5th is known as both the Feast of the Dedication of St. Mary Major but also as the Feast of Our Lady of the Snows, on account of the miracle attributed to our Lady.
The Importance of the Basilica of St. Mary Major:
St. Mary Major is important to Christendom for three reasons:
(a) It stands as a venerable monument to the Council of Ephesus (431), at which the dogma of Mary's divine Motherhood was solemnly defined; the definition of the Council occasioned a most notable increase in the veneration paid to Mary. (b) The basilica is Rome's "church of the crib," a kind of Bethlehem within the Eternal City; it also is a celebrated station church, serving, for instance, as the center for Rome's liturgy for the first Mass on Christmas. In some measure, every picture of Mary with the divine Child is traceable to this church.
(c) St. Mary Major is Christendom's first Marian shrine for pilgrims. It set the precedent for the countless shrines where pilgrims gather to honor our Blessed Mother throughout the world. Here was introduced an authentic expression of popular piety that has been the source of untold blessings and graces for Christianity in the past as in the present.
Source: The Church's Year of Grace by Pius Parsch via Catholic Culture
Grant to us Thy servants, we beseech Thee, O Lord God, that we may enjoy perpetual health of mind and body: and through the intercession of blessed Mary ever Virgin may be delivered from present sorrow and possess eternal joy. Through our Lord.
Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal
Friday, August 4, 2006
On December 31, 2005, I was happy to post that Comedy Central promised to not re-run the "Bloody Mary" episode. This blasphemous, insulting, and disgusting episode attacks the Pope and the Blessed Virgin Mary. But, the people that made such a promise are liars!
Comedy Central re-aired the episode on August 2, 2006! If you are tired of seeing our faith insulted, register a protest: tony.fox[at]comedycentral.com
Source: Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights
Read more >>
Comedy Central re-aired the episode on August 2, 2006! If you are tired of seeing our faith insulted, register a protest: tony.fox[at]comedycentral.com
Source: Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights
A very faithful Catholic that visits my blog under the nickname "St. Michael" is in great need of your prayers. This is from his blog:
Read more >>
Hey all,
I will not be posting much, if any for the next month or two. I am going in this friday the 4th for Open heart Surgery. It will be my 11th! Yes, I am a frequent flyer when it comes to this. Please keep me in your prayers that all will go as God wills.
Pax Christi,
Michael
Memorial (1969 Calendar): August 4III Class (1962 Calendar): August 8
Double (1955 Calendar): August 9
The Devil told St. John Vianney, "If there were three such priests as you, my kingdom [in France] would be ruined."
St. John Vianney (1786-1859) was born in Dardilly, Lyons, France, and died in Ars, France. He was a farmhand that taught other children their prayers and catechism. St. John Vianney felt the calling to follow Our Lord as a priest, but he was not a very good student. And, with all classes still being taught in Latin, he did poorly because he was horrible at Latin. But, God guided him and St. John Vianney was ordained in 1815.
St. John Vianney was briefly assigned for a while to Ecully as a parish priest, but in 1818 he was assigned to the parish of Ars, a tiny village near Lyons, which suffered from lax attendance. St. John Vianney immediately began visiting his parishioners, especially the sick and poor. St. John Vianney would spend days in prayer and penance for his parishioners.
But, the devil did not want St. John Vianney to continue his ministry; some estimate that St. John Vianney saved 25,000 souls. And for this, the devil frequently tormented St. John Vianney when he tried to get his 2-3 hours of sleep a night.
Because of his priestly zeal, St. John Vianney has been recognized as the patron saint of parish priests. The man that barely completed his education is now the patron saint of parish priests. By 1855 there were 20,000 pilgrims a year to Ars. They came to hear him and receive the Sacrament of Confession from him. St. John Vianney heard confessions for 16 hours each day in a small confessional. St. John Vianney was also gifted with discernment of spirits, prophecy, hidden knowledge, and working miracles.
The Devil told St. John Vianney, "If there were three such priests as you, my kingdom [in France] would be ruined."
St. John Vianney (1786-1859) was born in Dardilly, Lyons, France, and died in Ars, France. He was a farmhand that taught other children their prayers and catechism. St. John Vianney felt the calling to follow Our Lord as a priest, but he was not a very good student. And, with all classes still being taught in Latin, he did poorly because he was horrible at Latin. But, God guided him and St. John Vianney was ordained in 1815.
St. John Vianney was briefly assigned for a while to Ecully as a parish priest, but in 1818 he was assigned to the parish of Ars, a tiny village near Lyons, which suffered from lax attendance. St. John Vianney immediately began visiting his parishioners, especially the sick and poor. St. John Vianney would spend days in prayer and penance for his parishioners.
But, the devil did not want St. John Vianney to continue his ministry; some estimate that St. John Vianney saved 25,000 souls. And for this, the devil frequently tormented St. John Vianney when he tried to get his 2-3 hours of sleep a night.
Because of his priestly zeal, St. John Vianney has been recognized as the patron saint of parish priests. The man that barely completed his education is now the patron saint of parish priests. By 1855 there were 20,000 pilgrims a year to Ars. They came to hear him and receive the Sacrament of Confession from him. St. John Vianney heard confessions for 16 hours each day in a small confessional. St. John Vianney was also gifted with discernment of spirits, prophecy, hidden knowledge, and working miracles.
St. John Vianney died on August 4, 1859, at Ars, France, of natural causes. He was canonized on May 31, 1925. He is known as the Curé of Ars. Pope Pius XI declared him the patron saint of all diocesan priests in 1929. His body remains incorruptible. His feastday was transferred from August 9th to August 8th in 1960 to be closer to the day of his death.
Here is one conservation he had with a penitent because of his gift of discernment:- Do you remember that you went to a ball on such-and-such occasion?
- Yes, I remember.
- Do you remember that at a certain moment a handsome young man entered the ballroom? He was quite elegant, appeared very upright and danced with several young ladies?
- Yes, I do.
- Do you recall that you had a great desire to dance with him?
- I recall that.
- Do you recollect that you became sad because he didn’t ask you to dance?
- Yes, I do.
- Do you remember that by chance you looked down at his feet and saw a strange blue light coming from them?
- Yes. I remember.
- That young man was none other than the devil who had taken that shape to tempt several of the young women there. He was unable to approach you because you are a Daughter of Mary protected by her, and you were wearing the Miraculous Medal.
From “Saints to Remember from January to December,” by the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary:
This glorious parish priest was born in eastern France, three years before the French Revolution broke out. He was a simple farmer’s boy. He received his first Holy Communion secretly in a barn when he was thirteen years of age. He later began studies or the priesthood. Because of the simple innocence of his mind, he found it very hard to pass the seminary examinations. His great devotions were to the Blessed Sacrament and to Our Blessed Lady. After months of prayer to Our Blessed Lady, he finally obtained the favor of being ordained a priest in 1815. He got encouragement to pursue his vocation to the priesthood at the tomb of Saint John Francis Regis. He was first made an assistant pastor at Ecully, and later a pastor at the little village of Ars. He stayed there for forty-one years, until he died. He is always referred to as the Cur’e of Ars. So great was his sanctity that people from all over Europe came to see him. He used to spend from sixteen to eighteen hours in the confessional every day. Heads of the State, army officers, university professors, bishops and priest, all went to him for direction. Toward the end of his life, nearly 20,000 pilgrims visited him every year. Pope Pius XI proclaimed him the patron of all parish priests. He was one of the most loved priests in the history of the Catholic Church. Everyone remembers him either as siting in the confessional or kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament or before an image of Our Blessed Mother, always with the rosary beads in his hand.Writing Excerpts from St. John Vianney Available Online:
- Catechism on Communion
- Catechism on Confession
- Catechism on Frequent Communion
- Catechism on Hope
- Catechism on Impurity
- Catechism on Prayer
- Catechism on Pride
- Catechism on Salvation
- Catechism on Sin
- Catechism on Suffering
- Catechism on the Blessed Virgin
- Catechism on the Cardinal Virtues
- Catechism on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
- Catechism on the Holy Spirit
- Catechism on the Love of God
- Catechism on the Prerogatives of the Pure Soul
- Catechism on the Priesthood
- Catechism on the Real Presence
- Catechism on the Sanctification of Sunday
- Catechism on the Word of God
- On Anger
- On Avarice
- On Death
- On Envy
- On Gluttony
- On Grace
- On Lust
- On Paradise
- On Prayer
- On Pride
- On Salvation
- On Sin
- On Sloth
- On Temptations
- On the Last Judgment
- On the Love of God
- Sermon on Purgatory
- The Little Catechism of the Cure of Ars
- The Sermons of the Cure d'Ars: For the Sundays and Feasts of the Year
Almighty and merciful God, Who didst make St. John Mary wonderful in his pastoral zeal and constant prayer and penance: grant, we beseech Thee, that by his example and intercession we may be able to win the souls of our brethren for Christ, and together with them attain to everlasting glory. Through the same our Lord.
Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal
Today is the First Friday of August. Because today is the first Friday of the Month, many Catholic parishes will have special Masses today for the First Friday Devotion.Beginning on December 27, 1673, through 1675, Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque asking her to receive Him in Holy Communion on the first Friday of every month and to meditate on His passion from 11:00 PM to 12:00 midnight each Thursday. He also revealed to her twelve promises for all who are devoted to His Sacred Heart; he asked for a Feast of the Sacred Heart to be instituted in the liturgical calendar of the Church. Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque with twelve promises for those devoted to His Most Sacred Heart.
Promises for those devoted to the Sacred Heart:
1. "I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life."
2. "I will establish peace in their homes."
3. "I will comfort them in their afflictions."
4. "I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all in death."
5. "I will bestow a large blessing upon all their undertakings."
6. "Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and the infinite ocean of mercy."
7. "Tepid souls shall grow fervent."
8. "Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection."
9. "I will bless every place where a picture of My Heart shall be set up and honored."
10. "I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts."
11. "Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be blotted out."
12. "I promise thee in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who communicate on the First Friday in nine consecutive months, the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving the Sacraments; My Divine heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment."
Pro-life Action:
MarchTogether.com has a monthly Call for Life in which pro-lifers are urged to call their elected officials and voice their support for the dignity of life. Today, being the first Friday, is this month's Call for Life.
For more information on the First Friday Devotion, please see The Miracle of the Rosary Mission. Please remember to pray for the unborn today and make an act of reparation to Our Lord. Remember, it was on Friday that Our Lord died and all Fridays in the year are days of penance (Canon 1250 - 1253)
Prayer of Reparation:
O Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore thee profoundly. I offer thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences by which He is offended. By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of thee the conversion of poor sinners. Amen.
August 21 Update: President Bush supports Plan B! Act now!
I received this alert from the American Life League:
CALL UPON PRESIDENT BUSH TO STOP PLAN B!
Following months of intense pressure from Planned Parenthood and the rest of the abortion industry, the Food and Drug Administration is ready to cut a deal with the manufacturer of Plan B -- the "morning-after" pill -- to make the dangerous drug available over the counter to women over the age of 18.
This action would be devastating to women's health and deadly to preborn children!
The President offers the last chance to keep Plan B from being sold at any neighborhood pharmacy without a prescription.
PLAN B DESTROYS PREBORN BABIES
The "morning after" chemical cocktail frequently acts to destroy the life of a newly conceived human being in the days immediately following fertilization.
A Planned Parenthood website even acknowledges this fact by admitting that the "morning-after" pill frequently works by, "changing the lining of the uterus so that a fertilized egg
could not implant in the uterus." As a result, a tiny preborn child is killed.
PLAN B IS DANGEROUS TO THE GIRLS AND WOMEN WHO TAKE IT
There are numerous health risks associated with the drug and the proposed agreement would allow it to be distributed without proper medical supervision.
Also, there's no guarantee that girls under 18 would not be able to get their hands on this drug; there are too many adults willing to bend the rules.
TAKE ACTION --- CALL OR E-MAIL THE WHITE HOUSE TODAY!
The last point of intervention to keep the dangerous "morning-after" pill from being available across the counter at your neighborhood drug store is the White House.
Stop whatever you're doing and take 30 seconds right now to tell President Bush to use his executive authority to overrule the Food and Drug Administration. Tell him to stop Plan B!
Read more >>
I received this alert from the American Life League:
CALL UPON PRESIDENT BUSH TO STOP PLAN B!
Following months of intense pressure from Planned Parenthood and the rest of the abortion industry, the Food and Drug Administration is ready to cut a deal with the manufacturer of Plan B -- the "morning-after" pill -- to make the dangerous drug available over the counter to women over the age of 18.
This action would be devastating to women's health and deadly to preborn children!
The President offers the last chance to keep Plan B from being sold at any neighborhood pharmacy without a prescription.
PLAN B DESTROYS PREBORN BABIES
The "morning after" chemical cocktail frequently acts to destroy the life of a newly conceived human being in the days immediately following fertilization.
A Planned Parenthood website even acknowledges this fact by admitting that the "morning-after" pill frequently works by, "changing the lining of the uterus so that a fertilized egg
could not implant in the uterus." As a result, a tiny preborn child is killed.
PLAN B IS DANGEROUS TO THE GIRLS AND WOMEN WHO TAKE IT
There are numerous health risks associated with the drug and the proposed agreement would allow it to be distributed without proper medical supervision.
Also, there's no guarantee that girls under 18 would not be able to get their hands on this drug; there are too many adults willing to bend the rules.
TAKE ACTION --- CALL OR E-MAIL THE WHITE HOUSE TODAY!
The last point of intervention to keep the dangerous "morning-after" pill from being available across the counter at your neighborhood drug store is the White House.
Stop whatever you're doing and take 30 seconds right now to tell President Bush to use his executive authority to overrule the Food and Drug Administration. Tell him to stop Plan B!
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